american forces in afghanistan and what will happen when america's longest running war comes to an end next year. Tonight there are fewer than 50,000 troops still in that country, but the white house says it is crucial that some of them stay. Abc's chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz with the latest on the plan. Martha? Reporter: Just to put some perspective on this, at the height of the war in 2010 we had 100,000 troops in afghanistan, today less than half that number. If this agreement goes forward this time next year there will probably only about around 6,000 to 10,000 troops that remain although president obama has not made a firm decision on that. Those troops will be there only to continue training afghan troops and to conduct counter terrorism operations. How long will they be there? The agreement says another ten years but the administration insists it will be nowhere near that long. One thing that may surprise people is that this is what the troops on the ground I visited with earlier this year in afghanistan want. They want to stay long enough to make sure the afghans are capable of fighting terror on their own.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

Thousands of Afghan Delegates to Vote on US Military Deal

U.S. troops could be on the ground for the next decade under a new agreement to be voted on Sunday.

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